This invention relates to vehicle location monitoring and more particularly to notifying a person that the vehicle will be delayed from its expected time of arrival.
More and more people are carrying mobile telecommunications devices, also referred to as mobile phones or cellular phones. Mobile phones enable a person to communicate while moving about, greatly improving a person's ability to gather information. These devices can even receive messages, such as Short Message Service messages, without establishing a dedicated, duplex call session, further enhancing their ability to effectively provide information to people on the move.
Large numbers of people also depend on various forms of public transportation for travel. Typically, the public transportation vehicle reaches a destination at an expected time of arrival. Many vehicles, such as buses and trains, have several destinations, or stops, at which people enter or leave the vehicle. These vehicles usually follow schedules giving specific departure and/or arrival times for the stops the vehicle makes. Scheduled departure/arrival times greatly increase the convenience of using these vehicles for transportation.
However, for a variety of reasons, these vehicles may be delayed from their scheduled arrival. For example, a child's school bus may get caught in an extended traffic jam, or a train might have mechanical problems. People not aboard the vehicle, may not be aware of the delay which can be problematic if they are depending on the schedule. It is therefore desirable to provide a convenient way of notifying a person, regardless of their location, that a scheduled vehicle is running late.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved system and method that resolves the above-referenced difficulties and others.